Protesters demonstrate on Bakken pipeline near Colfax

COLFAX — As construction on the Jasper County portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline moves into its final phases, there are still protesters actively seeking to either draw attention to or disrupt the construction process.

A small group of such protesters arrived at a Jasper County construction site Saturday, carrying the event live on social media. After some heated discussion involving on-site security staff, along with Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty and several deputies, the protesters eventually left without arrests being made.

The small group of protesters was led by former state legislator and Bold Iowa Director Ed Fallon, who spoke with the Newton Daily News late Saturday afternoon.

“We’re disappointed, not only with the Iowa Utilities Board and Gov. Terry Branstad for this project’s approval, but also with President Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers for not ordering a thorough enough study.”

This construction site, accessed where the pipeline easement route crosses North 19th Avenue West, is a gravel road that runs northeast of Colfax near Indian Creek, about halfway between Highway S52 and Highway 117. In the Facebook Live video, the group arrives in a pair of vehicles with a camera rolling and appears to walk onto the construction site near some heavy equipment, when a man who doesn't identify himself approaches Fallon and tells the protesters to "step back out to the road," and says they are trespassing.

A woman, who appears to be the other half of a two-person security team, makes her own camera-phone video footage while her partner is attempting to convince the group to move back out onto North 19th Avenue.

After a lengthy discussion about where private property extends, the man asks a woman protester “can I please see your hands? I’m going to restrain you” and produces yellow wrist restraints. He soon puts the restraints away as the group settles near the edge of the road, and he later answered Fallon’s question about the restraints by saying the restraints are only to be used on trespassers who endanger themselves by going near equipment.

Police had already been called, and after a brief conversation with the first deputy on scene, Halferty arrived, spoke with the security man and addresses the protesters. He explained while he respects the right to protest publicly, his concern is the safety for both protesters and construction crews and their equipment, and he asked them to stay near the road, away from the entrance drive to the construction site.

The group attempts to get Halferty to discuss whether security could restrain and/or arrest someone who is on public property, despite not being uniformed law enforcement. Halferty refused to discuss the subject, and left with the understanding the protesters would go no closer to the construction equipment, staying near the roadway’s edge.

“Sometimes, protesters like to try and engage law enforcement in in-depth conversations about pipelines and scenarios, but that’s not our job,” Halferty said. “Our job is to keep everyone safe and allow for free expression. In this case, we reached an understanding about what our expectations were regarding where they could be, and they made their videos, and not long after we left, the protesters left as well.”

Halferty reminded the protesters there had been more than $1 million in damage done to construction equipment in August and October at pipeline sites in Jasper and Mahaska counties. This led to Dakota Access parent company Energy Transfer Partners issuing a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of anyone responsible for the crimes.

Construction on 34 miles of Jasper County pipe in the 1,168-mile, four-state project is nearing completion, and is in the land-restoration phase.

Before leaving, the group made a few statements on camera and then met with some other area supporters nearby before returning to the Des Moines area. Fallon said the questions about defining private property at the sites, and the circumstances under which private security can physically move or stop protesters, are new concerns that hadn’t come up recently.

Fallon said there is a “NoDAPL” press conference and rally slated for 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Neal Smith Federal Building in Des Moines. These types of events are designed to bring even more awareness and action against the $3.4 billion project, according to anti-pipeline grounds, that has been embattled since it was first proposed more than two years ago.

Halferty told the Newton Daily News his department was unaware what size group of protesters was headed into the county, considering how large and high-profile some Boone and Story county protests have been this year. He said contracted private security has been prevalent at many pipeline construction sites since at least the first set of arson incidents occurred during the summer.

The sheriff said he was told by the security staff, who did not identify himself or the name of his employer to the Newton Daily News, that intervention was needed because protesters got very close to equipment. He said it’s possible circumstances might warrant detaining protesters and/or making a citizen’s arrest.

“It’s no different than if you catch someone in your home or on your own property,” Halferty said. “The difference here is that we not only have equipment where people could be hurt, and it’s equipment on the types of sites that have been vandalized recently.”

One of the protesters who came to Jasper County on Saturday is Heather Pearson of Logan. She has remained active despite a recent arrest, and said no personal price is too high to pay in an effort to get the pipeline project stopped.

“There is nothing any law enforcement could do to me that would match the damage a pipeline could do to a river basin,” she said.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com